Historic Headlines

On June 28, 1919, Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending its involvement in World War I. The treaty subjected Germany to a number of harsh penalties and restrictions that many historians believe
contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler.

Germany and the Allied Powers had signed an armistice on Nov. 11, 1918. Two months later, the Allied Powers met at the Paris Peace Conference to begin what became a four-month process of drafting the terms of Germany’s
surrender.

France, which had been invaded by Germany four times since 1814, sought to impose strict penalties on its neighbor to ensure its own safety. Conversely, President Woodrow Wilson of the United States pushed for his “Fourteen
Points,” a collection of conditions intended to prevent the outbreak of war.

The final treaty was completed in May 1919. The most contentious part of the treaty was Article 231, known as the “war guilt clause,” which forced Germany to accept all financial and moral responsibility
for the war. Germany was given two choices: sign the treaty as is, or resume fighting.

The New York Times article about the signing contrasted it with the Franco-German peace session, held in the same hall, “where the Germans humbled
the French so ignominiously forty-eight years ago.” The Times article expressed concern about whether “the attitude of Germany and the German plenipotentiaries, which left them … still outside
of formal reconciliation” posed a risk that the German National Assembly would not ratify the treaty.

Postwar Germany was governed under the “Weimar Republic.” The Weimar government signed the Versailles Treaty, which made it immediately unpopular with the German people. Crippled by the conditions imposed
by the treaty, the ineffectual government could due little to improve the German economy.

Far-right politicians promising to return Germany to its former glory began to accumulate power. In 1933, Hitler and his Nazi Party soon took control of the government, dissolving the Weimar Republic and establishing
the Third Reich. Many historians argue that the Treaty of Versailles played a large role in Hitler’s emergence.

On June 22, 1940, after Germany had invaded France for the fifth time since 1814, the two nations signed an armistice.
At Hitler’s insistence, the signing was held in the same railroad dining car in the Compiègne Forest, where 22 years earlier Germany had been forced to sign the armistice ending World War I.

Connect to Today:

As the article mentions, Germany invaded France four times in a 100-year period, starting in 1814, and again in 1940. How might that history affect Germany’s relationship with France today?

As Europe copes with a debt crisis, what roles are being played by the leaders of France and Germany?
How might their shared history, including the Versailles Treaty’s “war guilt clause” and the resulting fallout in Germany, continue to resonate during the delicate negotiations over how to handle
the economic crisis in Europe? How might German leaders draw on their knowledge of history as they participate in diplomatic talks with France and other European nations?

I think Germany and France are close friends today, and they cultivate that friendship.

Of course, for a German, history is ALWAYS an issue. Who else in Europe has sparked two world wars? It is a constant challenge for German politicians to be mindful and aware of the way their neighbors could
be looking at history. .
However, I am convinced that the younger generation in France and Germany is not feeling resentment or guilt. Both, the French and the Germans strongly believe in a united Europe, are happy to cross borders
without controls, pay in one currency, and be able to work in either country if they want to.

Germany invaded France four times since 1814? Maybe you should tell the audience that it was France which was the aggressor for nearly 300 years. Germany was dragged into war numerous times by France and almost
everytime the war was waged on German soil.

Just to get your facts straight: 1914 was the first time that Germany acted as an aggressor.

Let me begin by focusing on the following quote: “On June 22, 1940, after Germany had invaded France for the fifth time since 1814, the two nations signed an armistice. At Hitler’s insistence,
the signing was held in the same railroad dining car in the Compiègne Forest, where 22 years earlier Germany had been forced to sign the armistice ending World War I.” This statement, I think,
suggests a false sense of historical continuity. In reality, German-French relations changed considerably during this time. I will not discuss cultural or economic change, rather I will focus this post strictly
and narrowly on the history of French-German conflicts. France was the dominant power on the European continent beginning with the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648).
Great Britain tried to contain the eastward expansion of France by forming alliances with the Netherlands and various German states (British balance of power politics). The rule of Louis XIV saw the culmination
of French expansion but another series of annexations of territory on France’s eastern border took place in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Napoleon’s actions finally led to the collapse
of the Holy Roman Empire (1806) and a complete reordering of the political landscape in Central Europe. The invasion of 1814 was a result of Napoleonic aggressions. Even after his defeat in the Russian campaign
and at the Battle of Nations at Leipzig in 1813, Napoleon refused a peace settlement and the allied powers, Great Britain, Czarist Russia, Austria, Prussia, Sweden and other German states invaded France and
pressed on until Napoleon’s abdication. Napoleon returned in 1815 from exile on the island of Elba, overthrew the French government and invaded the Low Countries. In response, after his defeat in
the battle of Waterloo in 1815, troops from various Allied powers invaded France again. The Congress of Vienna imposed a peace settlement that did not punish France. Rather the country was welcomed back into
the European community under very reasonable terms. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 started with a French declaration of war issued by the government of Napoleon III. Prussia was able to enlist aid from
other German states and the war again involved an invasion of France, this time solely by troops from the German states. It resulted in the overthrow of the government of Napoleon III and the establishment of
the French Third Republic. The peace settlement was harsh and included reparations and the German annexation of Alsace and Lorraine, culturally mixed border regions which were settled by German- and French-speaking
people, but had been under French control since the late 17th century. Germany only came into existence as a nation state as a result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. My main point is that it is
best to discuss the history of German-French relations either more broadly by emphasizing historical change, or narrowly, beginning with the war of 1870/71. Summarizing complex events is always tricky. Identifying
these five historic conflicts as a series of five German invasions of France that took place between 1814 and 1940, when Nazi Germany occupied France, is misleading and creates a false sense of historical continuity:
It suggests France was the victim of a continuous series of German aggressions. It also suggests a deep expansionist and militaristic tradition in Germany that stretches back far into history. Au contraire—historians
credit the military reforms of Otto von Bismarck in the early 1860s with creating the modern Prussian military. Bismarck forced these reforms through with support from the king, even though the Prussian parliament
opposed the enlargement of the professional Prussian military forces and backed a reorganization of the Landwehr (citizen’s milita).

France invents a law, Italy is interpreting it, and Germany is implementing it.

1. France and Germany are no allies in a war against Greece. Rather, together (sic!) they are the heart of the matter called EU. 2. The Greek people is not requested to unconditionally surrender. Rather, the
Greek people (represented in the parliament) is requested to sign an austerity package, or alternatively to declare bankrupt. Eventually, however, both alternatives mean the same, i.e. an unconditional surrender. 3. The Greek people knows very well the “enemies” in this “war”: The very rich Greece not paying tax (in this case without support by Bush but more “voluntarily” paying
no tax), and the nepotism of the political class.

A personal advice to the Greek people: Not to sign the “Treaty of Versailles”, rather, to declare war on the French and German banks (i.e. to declare the Greek state as bankrupt). Unfortunately, thanks
to the nepotism (and plutocracy) it is highly likely that this evening the Greek parliament WILL sign the “Treaty of Versailles” including its “war guilt clause”. A bankrupt of Greece
and a concentration on the problems realistically to be solved (which are not the coupons to be paid to European banks) in Greece (nepotism, tax system and its implementation, industrial basis etc.) is for me
the solution.

“Many historians argue that the Treaty of Versailles played a large role in Hitler’s emergence.”

The main point is that after WWI the first democratic government in Germany had to undersign the Treaty of Versailly. Even though the politics of the Kaiser was responsible for WWI, representatives of the parliament
had to bear the consequences for that war. This undermined the reputation of democracy throughout the Weimar republic. Democratic politicians were accused of being anti-patriotic and Germans felt that they must
make a fatal choice: either to support democracy or to be patriotic.